Sunday 29 July 2012

❀ July Favies ❀


Hello everyone. I didn't have too many favorites this month but I wanted to do a favorites post anyway because I didn't do one last month and I love sharing products I'm really enjoying with you all.  If you would like any individual reviews on any products mentioned please let me know in the comments. Enjoy!

Garnier Summer Body Moisturising Lotion in Light Sun Kissed
I love this because it's such a natural and fool-proof tan. Fake tanning can go very very wrong on a pale skinned gal like me but I find this so easy to apply, just like a body moisturiser. It doesn't give me a dramatic tan but it does give me a more "sun-kissed" look. It's very moisturising, smells pleasant and is enjoyable to use. Also it's cheap! Yipee.

Maybelline Dream Fresh 8-in-1 BB Cream
I tried the free samples on this (here) and fell in love. I bought it immediately because I was so impressed with the quality and how the colour matched me well even though I have a pale complexion and it looks a little orange in the tube. I'm not going to bang on about this one too much as I have a full review coming very soon! 

Simple Kind to Skin Eye Make-Up Remover
I love this because it is oil-free but still removes my eye make-up very very well. So easy to use and makes taking my eye make-up off at night a much easier task from when I used make-up wipes. Although, I do find that it is running out quickly! 

Benefit Hervana Boxed Powder
I've been wearing this non-stop since the sun came out because it's such an uplifting shade. A mix of purple, peach and pink tones really make my face look fresher and the subtle shimmer helps give me a glow. Perfect for spring/summer. It's also a very light shade so works well with pale skin, but I find it isn't very pigmented and has to be built up. (that's a plus for me as I hate too much blush!)

Nivea Milk and Honey Lip Balm
This is the closest thing I've found to the Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream Lip Protectant which I love but it's so expensive for a lip balm. This one is much cheaper and almost as good. It also tastes as yummy as it sounds.

Urban Decay Naked Palette
Ok so your all probably so bored of this palette by now but I have rekindled my love for it this month. I used it last night and created a lovely bronzey eye to go out for dinner for my Mum's 40th birthday and I was very pleased with it. The quality of the shadows are really great and the selection of colours are perfect. I'd recommend this to a starter as it comes with a primer, a brush and 12 versatile colours.

Benefit Hoola Boxed Powder
So this is only a small sample I had in the "Tan about Town" set but I love it. Such an amazing colour for a pale gal like me (all I seem to be saying in this post is how pale I am haha) and applies beautifully. The texture is really nice which makes the product a dream to blend. I'd definitely pay the full £23.50 for the full size but it'll be a sad day when I have to!

MUA Eye-Shadow in Shade 12 - Pearl 
I love the MUA eye shadows but this one of my favorites. I find the texture very comparable to the shimmery ones from the Urban Decay Naked Palette which is very impressive for £1. The matte shadows aren't as good as the pearl shadows as they are a little chalky but I love them all the same. Apparently this is a dupe for MAC's Club eye shadow which is why I bought it to try the colour as it is beautiful and very unique, but I was worried I'd pay a lot in MAC and it wouldn't suit me. I'm so happy with this MUA shadow that I don't think I will be purchasing the MAC one. Hooray for dupes!

Maybelline 24hr Colour Tattoo in On-and-On Bronze
I love using this all over the lid or as a subtle liner. The colour is beautiful and the texture works great as a base or alone with minimal creasing. The pigmentation is great and the product blends easily and well. I think these are really good for the price and I really didn't want to follow the hype but I can't wait to purchase some more.

I also forgot to photograph the Maybelline Lumi-Touch Concealer which I've loved too, silly Carys, but a full review should be up soon :) 


I hope you enjoyed this post. If you have a done a video/post on your July Favorites then please leave the link below, I'd love to hear. 

Would you guys be interested in a Graze Box review? Not sure whether to do one or not just in case no-ones particularly interested.

'Til Next Time,
Carys xox






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Thursday 26 July 2012

☼ ☼ Sunny Days ☼ ☼

A little bit of a more personal/lifestyle post but I thought I'd share some images I've taken whilst enjoying the lovely British sun we've been having recently. I haven't really done anything too exciting but I've enjoyed relaxing with my boyfriend and visiting a lovely park nearby. I've also been doing lots of walking in an attempt to be a little bit more healthy. 
Warning; the post is very picture heavy haha.

Embracing my milky legs at a pretty park nearby
Reading blogs on my phone whilst waiting for my boyfriend to turn up 
Me and Mick (he doesn't like this photo so shh don't tell him I put it on here!


Mick makes me look extra pale




Twinsies because I was uncomfortable in my original t-shirt


Mick decided to be a photographer for the day and took 3974874 pictures of me


And a beautiful picture of me to finish off the blog post! 
What have you all been doing to enjoy this lovely sun? 
Don't worry more fashion/beauty posts coming soon!
Also, would you guys be interested in me doing a Graze box review?

'Til Next Time,
Carys xox




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✿ Current Book Wishlist ✿


The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
She's Come Undone - Wally Lamb
The Book of Lies - Mary Horlock
The Fault in our Stars - John Green

I thought I'd do a quick book post today. I don't really speak about books a lot, I don't think I ever have actually but I love reading. I also thought it would be a nice change from beauty or fashion. I've only read 3 books this year which is pretty shocking so I need to get into a routine of reading again, I miss it. I can't wait until I have some money so I can buy and read all of these.

What are some of your favourite books? Have you read any of these?

'Til Next Time,
Carys xox

Wednesday 25 July 2012

♢ What's in my bag? ♢

I thought this was a 'must-do' post as everyone who's part of the blogging/youtube world has done either post or video on this. I was going to make a video but I decided that a blog post is easier and quicker right now due to my computer still being fixed and I'm currently using a very old dell laptop which isn't the quickest.
The bag I've been using literally every day since I got it is probably one you've seen/heard about. It's the Grey Zara Messenger Bag with Edging. The grey and the rose gold compliment each other perfectly and how could I not fall in love with this bag for £19.99?! Such a bargain. Although, it is looking a bit worse for wear as I seem to lug around too much with me. Oops.
I love reading these posts or watching these kinds of video's because I am such a nosey person. I love seeing what people carry around with them and what are their beauty, handbag staples, you know someone loves something when they feel as if they need to have it every where they go!


Beauty
NARS Blush in Deep Throat 
Revlon Colour Burst Lipstick in Peach 75
Benefit Bad Gal Mini
Cargo Lipgloss in Tokyo
Sephora Lipgloss in Pink-o-lada
Collection Fix Me Up Spray 
Maybelline Lumi -Touch Concealer 
Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder
Rimmel Professional Brow Pencil in Dark Brown 001
MUA Kiss Me Lip Balm
Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Lip Balm
Topshop Polish in Coral
Nivea Naturals Milk and Honey Lip Balm
L'Occitane Cocoa Flower Hand Cream
Arbonne FC5 Swiss Ultra-Hydrating Hand Cream
Travolo (Marc Jacobs Daisy inside)
Lush Solid Perfume in Karma

Miscellaneous
H&M Make-Up Pouch
Bobble and Hair Slides
Extra Chewing Gum
Keys (the over-sized Cartman is a must, I love South Park!)
Topshop Colour Block Purse 
Paracetamol/Ibuprofen
Marc Jacobs Umbrella
Wilko Fruity Berry Instant Hand Sanitizer
3rd Generation iPod

This was actually all photographed before we had all this lovely summer weather here in the UK so some other things I've been carrying around lately due to the weather is deodorant, an spf/sun-cream, LUSH Breath of Fresh Air toner water, 2 bottles of water and my camera.

I found a really lovely website based on the idea of the 'What's in my bag?' post/video called What's in my Handbag. I 100% recommend you check it out as it's a really wonderful website for sharing beauty tips and products, they also give out free samples each month and I recently received the Elemental Herbology Cell Plumping Facial Hydrater totally free. They're currently giving members the chance to receive a Bare Minerals foundation sample!

Hope this was interesting enough and I'm sorry for the delay in posting, I've been enjoying the lovely weather we've been having here in the UK! I hope every one else is loving it as much as I am.

What are your hand-bag beauty staples? What are you doing to enjoy this lovely summer sun?

'Til Next Time,
Carys xox




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Wednesday 18 July 2012

♥ Love of the Day ~ eBay #3 ♥

Hello everyone.
If you're wondering what 'Love of the Day' is then wander over to the lovely Louise's blog and read this post or you can read mine here.

I haven't done a LOTD in a while and I kind-of missed it but today is Thursday and Thursday's LOTD is always about a great find on eBay and that is what I have to share with you today.
Ok so I can't take all the credit for this find, you may of already seen it in this post by Bethan at Quotations & Fluff, I believe (check out her blog, it's pretty darn nice). She recently did a 'what's in my bag' post featured this eBay bag and I jumped for joy when I saw it was under a tenner. Since then they have upped their pricing (from £5.99 to £7.99) so I'm gutted I didn't order it as soon as I saw it but I shall be soon. I want to get the grey one because I adore grey bags and I think it's too cute to pass up for just £12 with p&p. 

✩ Join in the fun at Sprinkle of Glitter and read Louise's recent eBay post here

What are your thoughts on the bag? Are you enjoying LOTD posts?

'Til Next Time,
Carys xox




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❀ ❀ Review; Collection 2000 Lasting Colour Gel Liner ❀ ❀

I was so excited when I saw that Collection 2000 were doing gel liners. Gel liners have been hugely popular in the blogging/beauty world and a staple for me ever since I first used one. This time last year they were more or less only available from higher end brands like MAC, Bobbi Brown etc. but since the release of the Maybelline gel liner many other high-street brands have followed, Collection 2000 being the cheapest to my knowledge. I know MUA are releasing some soon so I'd love to pick some of those up and do a comparison post as I believe they are cheaper.

I bought the liner in the shade "teal" as I already have a MAC Fluid line in dip-down (a deep, brown) and I fancied something a bit more exciting than the average black/brown and this colour screamed summer to me. 
The Collection 2000 Lasting Colour Gel Liners come in 4 colours - Brown, Black, Teal and Gold which I think is a pretty good range for the high-street although a purple would be nice hint. They retail at £4.99 (Bargain right?) and can be found at most stores that stock cosmetics, the most popular being Boots and Superdrug. 
I love how Collection 2000 have included a little "how to guide" on creating the perfect look with the product on the back of the packaging. A nice touch for someone who's a gel liner newbie. They also have included a little brush, pictured below, which I also think is a nice touch again for someone who's a gel liner newbie and may not have a brush. I didn't find much use for the brush as I found it applied the liner too thickly (I use the elf angled liner brush to apply!) but it's pretty handy for smudging the product on the lower lash line which is how I've been wearing this product this along with the infamous cat eye flick. 
 As you can see the packaging is pretty basic. A little glass jar with a little black lid. Not very impressive but it's about the product not the packaging right?
Pictured without flash
Pictured with flash
 The colour of this product is beautiful. A bright teal with a subtle sheen. So impressed with the colour and the pigmentation. Looks exactly how it does on the eye as it does in the jar!

Collection 2000 say... "these intense colour pigment pots will give up to 12 hours lasting wear, for a glossy finish to your essential eyeliner look."
Swatched once in natural light
I agree with the intense pigmentation but not so much the glossy finish. The product looks rather matte on my eyes but the subtle shimmer does give it a slight sheen. This product does last amazingly on my eyes, I was most impressed with the staying power which I thought was very comparable to my MAC fluid-line. Maybe not 12 hour wear but no liner stays for that amount of time on my watery eyes. 
The texture of this product is very surprising for a gel liner. Most are smooth and soft but this one seems to be quite hard and more like a tough cream eye-shadow which can make the product harder to load onto the brush and does make for a less smooth application. Although, I do think that it's odd texture is a plus as it can be worn as a very long lasting cream shadow (I've tried and it applies very nicely and stays like nobody's business) and I feel the texture aids the product in staying so long on the eye. 

All in all I love this gel liner. No worse than my MAC fluid-line (the only difference is the texture) so I am very impressed for the £4.99 price tag. I will definitely be picking up more of these in the future. Maybe the gold? Maybe the brown?

Have you tried these out yet? Will you be picking any up? Are you a fan of gel-liner?

'Til Next Time, 
Carys xox




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Thursday 12 July 2012

✣ ✣ Blog Button ✣ ✣

Hello everyone!
 A super quick post today just to let you all know I now have a blog button. I've wanted to create one for ages considering a lot of blogs I come across are ones I've clicked on via their blog button. With the help of this guide, making one was incredibly easy. 
If you'd like to put my button onto your blog then there is a widget on the right side of this blog with a widget code for the button and you can just copy that onto a HTML gadget, apply it to your blog and viola. If you do this then I will definitely return the favour if you let me know the code to your blog button. Thanks so much if you do :)

'Til Next Time,
Carys xox

Wednesday 11 July 2012

♡ ♡ Current Top Cheek Products for Summer ♡ ♡

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♡ New Release: Sigma F88 and P88 ♡

Source

Hello everyone. 
I've never done a post like this before but it's the type of post that I would love to read and I think all of you would too. Sigma have released two new brushes into their best selling and widely talked about Sigmax collection.
 The Sigmax collection are all synthetic brushes and can be found here on the Sigma website. 
I am a Sigma Affiliate (anyone can become one and if you're not quite sure what a sigma affiliate is go here and click the affiliate tab). I thought I'd let you all know that that's not the reason I am writing this post, nor to gain commission/money etc. It's because I am really interested in these brushes. I own the P84 Angled brush from the Sigmax collection which I adore for concealer and various other cream/liquid products which has a very similar shape to these new brushes excepts it's more curved instead of flat. I thought I'd let you all know with this post in case you were interested in buying them, I know I am anyway. I thought I'd write this post letting you know whilst these brushes are still new just in case they sell out, I wouldn't want any of you to miss out, and anyway my blog is about informing readers on beauty/fashion etc. I love Sigma brushes anyway, I think they're very nice quality for the price and have a huge range. 

Product Infomation
Sigma say.... "The F88 brush blends foundation easily onto hard to reach areas of the face. The specially designed angle fits all areas of the face seamlessly. The F88 works especially well on the cheekbones and contours of the nose. The P88 brush is best used for precise application of concealer products. It works particularly well around the eyes and nose."

P88 Precision Flat Angled
I can imagine this to be true about the products as the P84 brush works well in the same way for concealer and other liquid/cream products. The angled point makes it easy to blend and apply the product to hard-to-reach areas such as around the nose, the crease or the chin and in the corners of the eye. I can imagine the P88 brush being just as good or maybe even better than what the P84 can do so I am very much intrigued. I also think the brush would work well in apply a contour right into the hollows of the cheeks and applying highlighter. Due to the synthetic hairs these brushes will work best with liquid/creamy products.

F88 Flat Angled Kabuki
I haven't really used anything like the F88 brush, nor have I tried any foundation brushes from Sigma but I imagine this to work similarly to the P88/P84 brushes only on a larger scale. I image it would blend foundation well around the nose where it sometimes sticks for me. I'm very interested in trying this product as I love the P84 so much.

Cost? The F88 Flat Angled Kabuki brush is $16 (around £10.50). I'm actually surprised at this price, I thought it would be a lot more expensive. The P88 Precision Flat Angled brush is even cheaper at $14 (around £9).
When Available? From July 11th on-wards. 
Where? The Sigma website here.
These brushes are also part of the permanent collection, yay!


Also, Sigma have offered a 10% off  discount code of your entire order with no minimum spend required. The code is AP2012 and is valid from July 1st - July 31st. 

I hope you enjoyed this post and if not I have a haul video and a 'top summer cheek products' post coming soon. 

What do you think of the new brushes? Will you be buying?

'Til Next Time,
Carys xox





(All infomation and images are from the Sigma Beauty Affiliate blog, here.)